Monday, April 30, 2007

Happy Monday! We are enjoying sensational weather here in the mountains. I mean just gorgeous weather. Puts a big smile right on my FACE!!

I have finished my customer cards and wanted to share a few with you.

Who doesn't love GLITTER? I stamped, colored and then cut out the flowers and added some sparkle to them to give them a little spunk. I stamped on vellum and did some dry embossing on the doodles to pop out some of the doodle marks. This looks very fun in real life. The pic doesn't do it justice. Simple card. This was one of the cards I made with no sentiment. Just a notecard. :)

This second card is another boy birthday card. Again, simple but fun!

Lastly, another crabby card. I love this set. There are so many ways to use this stamp set. I colored these images using Stampin' Up! colored pencils. I blended with gamsol. I love how soft our colored pencils are. They color so nicely.

Well, that is it for today. I have lots of errands to run and work still for the craft fair this weekend. Have a terrific Monday and I hope you get some stamp therapy in today!

Sunday, April 29, 2007

I have been busy stamping away. The days seem to get away from me lately. I am so PROUD to report the weather has been gorgeous here. Hard to believe Brandon had a SNOW day last week. Yesterday we went to the Flea Market and had a blast. I put sunscreen on the kids, but totally forgot about little ole me. Needless to say, I got a sunburn. Today is another beautiful day, I think I will lather myself up with the sunscreen before going outdoors. Being a little closer to the sun, you get sunburned much faster than down in Florida.

I have a ton of projects I want to share with you. It has been a stamping frenzy here. Lets get started!! The first one is the scrapbook page I demo'd at a workshop this past week. I always love to show the ease of scrapbooking. When I demo a page I like to showcase how to use our great background stamps as well as chalk, and versamark. I used the Level 3 hostess set and colored the image in using chalks and blender pens. This technique always makes me go WOW. Of course the picture makes me say WOW as well. LOL!

The second photo is a Fathers Day card. I am still working on cards for a customer and happy to report they are almost finished. Manly cards are the worst for me. I guess because I don't want to put to much fu fu stuff on it. I like the colors of this one. That True Thyme is so pretty with the Cool Caribbean. Remember, these colors retire June 30th. What will we do without Cool Caribbean? The thought kills me!

This third card was another project I demo'd at my workshop. Isn't this a fun card. My girlfriend Lisa helped me with this project. It uses the small tag punch and made a pinwheel. I see many more possibilites with this card.

The fourth card is a get well card using my favorite Farm Fever set. I popped the head and hands of the pig with dimensionals and it really made this card fun.

Lastly is my worm jar. This was really taken right out of the catalog, but I changed it up a bit. Brandon had a birthday party yesterday and I made a card to match the jar. I put gummy worms in the jar and I have to say, I thought it was the cutest thing.

Okay, I think this is it for now. There were many more projects and I will share throughout the week. I hope you have a fantastic Sunday.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Wow wee, where does the day go? I was kept busy getting ready for my workshop tonight. I had a blast and always feel in my element when I am teaching. So much fun. I would do it every night if I could.

Getting ready for this workshop I was a scrappin' fool. I love to showcase scrapbook pages. Maybe because I am just HOOKED, i dunno. Anyhoo, these were the pages that actually didn't make the cut. Tomorrow I will show you the page I demo'd. All in all, the workshop went fantastic. I've got some great stampin' ladies here and I am excited to show them lots of fun things to do with stamps.

On to the pages and a card...

This first page uses the new spiral punch. I wanted it to look as if it was a roll of film. Kinda fun. Great 12x12 page to showcase a lot of pictures. I love these pics as well since they were taken at our favorite little duck pond in Rhode Island. Makes me miss my Brother and his family. The kids look so young here. I used a lot of my hardware to focus on the stamped words. I actually liked this page better as a 8.5 x11, but then went ahead and put it on a 12x12.

The second layout was easy peasy. That Big Blooms set is a GREAT set to scrapbook with. There are so many ways you can stamp those crazy blooms. I love that! More bang for my buck. :) I really like these colors together, Real Red, Celery and Cool Caribbean. Very spring and fun. I added a button in the middle of the flowers and it really added nice dimension to the pages. Again, very easy layout.

Okay, so now for my card. Don't laugh. There is a story to this card. Yes, it is 100% easy and nothing special about it really. But do you notice that crazy circle punch? Well, I was browsing Micheals the other day and noticed that the isles had dramatically changed with tons of Martha Stewart stuff. Ya know... she has her hands in everything. I knew it would only be a matter of time before she put her hands in the paper crafting industry. With that said, some of her stuff was really cute. Yes, I know. But I must be honest. I really liked this punch. Her packaging is awesome. Very fresh. So, I made this card in 10 minutes. When I spied the punch, I had Little Pieces in mind. Quick, simple and very bright card. Not my usual since I am not a Bold Bright girl!

So that is all for today. I will show you what I demo'd tonight later. I think you will like it.

I better get my stuff unpacked. I have an early stampin' date. These girls are serious stampers. I don't stamp early, typically. I sure do love the company though!!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Ewww Weee! I've been a busy lady today. Creating, cleaning, shopping. I have things to share tomorrow. I have also been tagged by Eleonor! Be sure to check out her blog. Very FUN. I have to tell you 7 things that you don't know about me. Gosh, I really think you know all about me. This could be tough. Here it goes!!!1. I hate cold weather... okay, so you already know that!!!2. I had my belly pierced prior to children. :) It looked ridiculous as the belly grew. Out it came!3. I was a cheerleader in high school and thought I was a hottie. Looking back at those pictures I am not really sure what I was thinking. My hair was 4x bigger than my head.4. I hate bugs of any type. Even rollie pollies. 5. Although I call Florida my home, I'm a military brat and lived all over the United States growing up.6. I visit Starbucks almost every day. It is a really bad habit. 7. Prior to Stampin' Up! and children I was an RN working in the ICU's and Neuroscience. I don't miss nursing AT all.

There you have it. A small glimpse into Kimberly's life. I will tag a few folks tomorrow. It's late and my pillow is calling my name. Actually, another fact... I watch my soap opera late at night. General Hospital, here I come. I am so grateful for my DVR. Pathetic really!!! Smooches!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Scrappin' Days! Ever had one of those moments where you just need to rejuvenate your creative juices??? You know the days where you think what you are making is all "THAT" but later you look at it and tell yourself... "What was I thinking?" Ummm... I have had a few of those days lately. Usually just taking a break can fix that problem pretty quickly. I've had this problem making cards lately. Just seems that nothing is coming out the way I want it too. To help this problem I go back to my craftin' roots. Scrappin'! You would think working with a larger canvas would be harder. For me it's easier. I love to scrapbook just for ME! These latest pics have been sitting in a box by my desk and I finally pulled them out and went to town. I will confess that the paper I used yesterday for the challenge is NOT my favorite. Everyone raves on it, but personally I don't like it. I thought I would challenge myself to use the Rebecca paper today. Still not my favorite, but I do like how this turned out. I have to chuckle to myself because you will notice at the top left of the page is my version of *frayed ribbon*. I am afraid I will not be showing you how to do this until I master the technique. That is NO where near frayed ribbon. It is more like cut up and then rolled in between my hands. LOL! But in all honesty, I kinda like the way it turned out. LOL! I am in love with circles on scrapbook pages. I love the way they can add dimension. I used the Polka Dot and Paisley set for the Paisley going down the page on Kraft paper. I only highlighted a few areas on it with my white gel pen. I liked that the designer paper coordinated with the paisley stamp.

For the next page, I used my new stamp set from Regionals. Double Line Doodles. Love this set. You will see this set in the NEW catalog coming out in July. I can't wait. This page actually had me laughing while I was scrapbooking it. Another reason I love this craft. It brings back those warm and fuzzy memories. My daughter is quite the girly girl. Loves to put on lipstick. As you can see, she is not that good at it yet. A lesson in application is on the horizon. The point was she had a great time trying. Once again, I used lots of circles. I loved using the Doodle Alphabet for the title and you will notice I used the flower for the *L* in Glamour. Since the pictures really tell the story here I did very little journaling . More like prompts. ***The compact, The application, Oops... missed, Messy***

Here are a few close ups of the layout.

Well that is my snowy day!!! Spent scrapbooking!! There is no school again tomorrow. Lets hope the snow is done and the warmth is coming.

My exciting news today is the weather. It is actually snowing! Yes, you heard me right. They cancelled school and now I am watching the flakes come down pretty good. Remember that short sleeve shirt you seen me wearing the other day on top of the mountain (well, actually a rock). Not happening today. So, this could only mean one good thing could happen! I must get busy stamping. :) Check back in a bit. I might have something spectacular to show you. LOL!!

Monday, April 23, 2007

My good friend Beate challenged me today with the Sara paper and Big Blooms. I have to say, I am usually not a fan of this paper, but really liked the way it came out. I guess because it is a gloomy day the colors in the photo did not do this photo justice. I used Mellow Moss for the base and stamped the Paisley background. Then I used Pumpkin and Ballet Blue to accent this card. I love the big flower in the Big Blooms set. It is such a happy flower. I decided to make this another Mothers Day card. I added the little rhinestone into the middle for extra spunk.

So this is my challenge for the day. I can't wait to see Beates. Thanks girlfriend for making me do something productive!! I had fun!!

I don't know about you, but me personally... glad to see Monday! I did have a good weekend and yesterday spent about 12 hours in my stamp room. Russ took the kids out yesterday afternoon and I really had the chance to catch up on some work. I stamped so many cards yesterday and it felt GOOD!!!! I have a craft show coming up in early May and really need to stamp away. I thought I would share a few cards that I have made. I am also working on some cards for a customer. Yeah!!

The first card is a little mish mosh. You know, a little of this and a bit of that. I used chocolate chip cardstock and the Magnolia paper from Wild Aspargus (i think) Regardless of the name... it is just PRETTY!!! I used my Jumbo Rough Wheel on the Whisper white Cardstock. I stamped the flourish over it from Autumn Leaves in the colorbox chalk ink. I stamped Birthdays are the Best in Choc Chip Craft ink and then embossed over it in Clear EP. Next, I used a little trick i had seen on Heather Summers blog with the oval punch. You NEED this punch. So many terrific things you can do with it. I put a brad in the middle to add accent and a little ribbon from Basic Grey. Yummy card.

Okay, I still love this set. It is just so GIRLY! I will admit this card took me the longest as I did a little paper piecing with it. I stamped her on designer paper and cut her pants out and then stamped her again on Whisper White cardstock and put her pants on. LOL! I also popped up the purse and shopping bags to add dimension. I used some of my favorite colors on this layout. Cool Caribbean, Real Red, and Not Quite Navy. The "Celebrate You!" sentiment came from that good ole' Greetings Galore Set.

Okay, one last card...

This one was pretty easy to put together. I used quite a few stamp sets however!

Eat Cake, Stamp of Authenticity, It's Your Birthday and lastly, Handle with Care. I used True Thyme cardstock with the Playhouse designer paper! This is more of a boy birthday card and I have very few of these!!!

Well, I hope your Monday is great! Get some time to stamp and make it a GREAT day!!

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Oh my word! I can't believe this little ole blog has been seen 10,000x. Can you? It's really exciting. Actually, this has made my day. I feel like I am on top of a mountain. Ha! I really am!

I have a few things to report... I believe the little fam is getting better!!! Alexis is not quite herself, but on the mend. Thank you to so many of you for your kind words. You really lifted my spirits!!! We decided to get out of the house today and took a trip to the Garden of the Gods. I know I never speak GREATLY of Colorardo, however there is beauty within this state. We really discovered it today. These huge rocks are just sticking up within the ground and they are just gorgeous. It was actually quite breathtaking. Another really cool thing about this area is the wildlife. I have never seen so many deer running around in all my life. I love it. I will never understand how anyone can shoot these beautiful animals. Just my opionion. Here is a photo of how close we were to these deer. There were 5 of them just hanging around. The kids were giddy with excitement and honestly I was too. Isn't this just awesome.

I don't have any creations today. I needed a bit of fresh air today and it felt good. Tomorrow brings lots of work for me. I hope to share something special then! I hope your Saturday was splendid and your Sunday is spectacular!!!

Friday, April 20, 2007

It's Friday and what a week this has been. I feel like I have been run over by a mac truck and need encouragment. Just a lousy week here. I really shouldn't complain. I have a lot of GREAT things in my life. I guess this week has just taken its toll on me. Ever had a week where you just feel blue and cannot snap out of it??????????? This is the place where I am!

These are a few things I am thinking about:

*the weather really needs to warm up!

*I have a lot of work that needs to be done!

*My creative juices do not seem to be flowing the way I would like!

*I wish I had a maid! My house is a mess and my stamping area is a disaster.

*I really need to start liking Colorado!

As always, I will leave on a positive note. The one thing that I love about stamping is the therapy it can provide me. It brings me to a very happy place. A place where I can pour emotions and feelings and turn them into creativity. It is a wonder all my projects this week haven't been black. {GLOOMY}! Eeek!

Mothers day is right around the corner. I am usually not a head of the game, but I am currently working on cards for a customer.

Here is card using a great set called Petal Prints. I remember when this set came out and everyone was using it. You still see it used quite often. It really is a great set for any occassion.

I chose to use one my favorite color combos: Pink and Brown. I used my cuttlebug embossing folder on Kraft CS and then used my sponge over it with Choc Chip to pop those embossed images out. I LOVE Kraft cardstock. I stamped my images on Kraft as well and embossed the petals on the flowers and popped them up with dimensionals. Using my oval punch I stamped my sentiment and then placed a piece of choc chip cs underneath to give the shadow effect. I have seen many others use this technique and it works nicely. I like how it looks. Lastly, a little ribbon adds the final touch.

I hope your weekend is filled with fun. I pray my family is able to get outdoors and find something fun to do here. It really is time to start exploring what this area has to offer. I am sure there is more to it than cootie bugs and snow! Something here has to be GREAT, right??

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Hi again! Wanted to share a few cards that I had worked on. :) This first one was one I did for Regionals. I actually changed it up a bit. I used chalk on the flower and I really liked the way I could shadow areas on the flower using chalk. I think sometimes we really forget the great uses of our chalks. I personally love them. :)

I used the Aida cloth background on the Choc. Chip CS and then stamped the doodle stamp over it again. I embossed the big flower onto the circle and then used the chalk to color the flower.

The second card, I wanted to play more with the chalks and was looking to really brighten that flower to make it just pop off that card. So, it managed to stay on the card, but it really did pop. I decided to play with the scallop flower punch a little and wanted to change it up a bit. I just layered it behind the circle and I like how it turned out. I used my cutter kit on the pumpkin and Very Vanilla cardstock. I think it's a fun card.

Well, off to stamp more. Alexis is running around the house like a manic? Does this mean she is feeling better??? That is what I thought yesterday. We'll see.

Thanks for visiting. I do appreciate all of you. Did you notice I am almost at 10,000 views? Hmmm... I think I might have to have a blog party once that happens. Very exciting!!!

Well this actually makes my day! My blog was tagged by Sharlene's Craft Room . Check out her blog for some great inspiration! Now, I guess the name of this game is to list the blogs that have inspired me. Boy, there are quite a few. So here it goes. Thanks Sharlene for including me in the fun!

1. Cambria's Blog... oh I could sit for hours looking at her blog. One, I love her personality and two her projects/cards are awesome. VERY inspirational to me!!

2. Inky Dreamz is my Sister in Laws blog. I had the pleasure of introducing her to stamping and nothing makes me more happy than to see what stamping does for someone. Her cards are just out of this world. I love to get inspired from her blog because our styles are so different, yet complement each other. I am just happy she is my sister too!!! Smooches Tracy!

3. Stamp with Heather I love Heathers blog for her fresh and fun ideas she has!! Plus, honestly... I think she has super hero powers. She just had a baby and she is a stampin' queen! I hope she is going to Convention this year so I can meet her. I am going to steal her super woman cape and put it on myself. *wink*

4. Stamps Paper Scissors Jan Tinks blog is not only inspirational, but hilarious. I find myself visiting her blog when I need a spirit boost or just a belly laugh. I've had the pleasure of meetng her once at a SCS function, although she probably doesn't remember me... her stamping skills made a great impact on me! Awesome with paper crafts!!!

5. Paper Fections Sharon Harnist has a FABULOUS blog and I just love all her ideas and the way she can use ribbon!! I am always attracted to her cards because I love her style. Kinda shabby. She is kinda shabby herself. Shabby chic that is. *wink* I was also lucky enough to meet her at a SCS event. :) Great lady and super duper talented!!!!! Just love her stuff.

So these are just a few of the VERY talented ladies I visit daily. I hope you enjoy them.

In other news. Yes, I am completely slacking on putting a project on here today. I will try hard to do this later. I've had very sick kids this week and trying to be a good mommy and make them better. We actually just visited the ER and I must tell you I am not happy with the care received. Not unusual. I will say they know my name when I left. I had a good ole fashion hissy fit before I left. I believe Alexis has Strep, but still waiting on the culture. That will be a few days. Bottom line, my kids have been sick here since we moved here. I think they just need to get all the new cootie bugs in their system. Brandon has missed more school here than ever. Poor guy. Unfortunetly I had to cancel my Tool Time class today. I am so bummed. Lucky for me, I do have awesome customers here and they are so understanding.

On a positive note, I did stamp lots of cards last night for my downline. :) I think they are the best and they always make me smile. They deserve so much more!!! :)

I hope your Thursday is fabulous. I know I am happy that Greys Anatomy is on tonight. I absolutely LOVE that show!!! I will be stamping later tonight. Whoo hoo!!

I will try to upload some of my creations later. Stick with me... I do promise some great stuff coming your way.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Hi there! I'm back from Regionals and had such a great time. Of course reality always hits when you come back from a little vacation. I came home to two very sick kids. All I want to say is can I go back to Salt Lake??? I hate to see my kids this sick. It just reeks. Salt Lake was fantastic. I had such a great time with Denise. I really felt like I had a piece of home with me all weekend. The Regional was Friday and it was fantastic. I am always amazed at the productions that SU! can put together. All the ideas and techniques were just amazing. Just when you think you couldn't learn more on stamping... they show you things you never would of thought of. After our Friday Regional we decided to take a trip to a Scrapbook Expo that was going on. Oh boy! Denise and I were like two toddlers in a candy store. We shopped and shopped. We really scored on a lot of GREAT deals. They have a store there in Utah that is just fantastic called Roberts. Oh how we loved ROBERTS!!! A great store with GREAT buys. Saturday we decided to tour Utah. We scoped out all the scrapbook stores and we were on a mission. :) We scored in many of these stores as well. Lots of fun products and great toys to play with. Of course, mine are still sitting in bags right now. Now, when I travel there is always EXCITMENT!!! I couldn't go without it this time either. Denise had a terrible allergic reaction to something she ate on Saturday night. She ended up taking some benedryl that night and out she was and the reaction was slowly going away. Since she was fast asleep, I decided to work on some remaining swaps I had sitting around. I was really going strong when all of a sudden the power goes out in our hotel. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I was back at convention when this exact same thing happened at the Shilo. Now before I forget, let me remind you that we are on the 13 floor. I didn't think about being on the 13th floor until this happened. Typically the number 13 is my familys lucky number. Not this night. The excitement woke Denise for a brief moment. I told her I would go check things out and call her back if it was an emergency. Once going down 13 flight of stairs, I find that it is a breaker that has blown however someone is stuck in the elevator and the fire dept. is on its way. I figured Denise would really freak if I didn't call to let her know the fire truck was outside the hotel for this reason. While the benedryl kept her asleep, I proceeded to stay downstairs and watch the excitment unfold. I swear it was better than Saturday Night Live. Watching intoxicated people come into the hotel and walk to the elevator was probalby the best part of the night. They just sat there waiting for it to arrive looking around at all the people in pajamas in the lobby. LOL!!! I literally thought I was giong to wet my pants from laughing. Quite a fun time. About two hours into the ordeal, I decide to attempt 13 flights of stairs. I only made it to the 5th. I completely freaked out and turned right around. I ended up watching more drunks come into the hotel. Finally after 4 hours, I could see the elevator working. I was so excited. I jumped on and back to bed for me. Meanwhile, my sweet friend was still fast asleep. Sunday we laughed about our Saturday drama and had to say our goodbyes. When I left Jacksonville, I never said good bye to Denise because I knew I wouldn't be able to drive from the tears flowing. This time, I know I will see her again soon at convention and this gets me by! I feel pretty blessed to have so many DEAR DEAR friends. Denise is definitley one of them and I had such a GREAT time with her. As the quote goes from Greys Anatomy, "she is my people!"Now I am home, trying to recoup and take care of my sick little babies. Alexis is really sick today. Hoping she will feel better tomorrow. Well, thanks for letting me ramble away. Once things settle down I will load my swap from Regional and a few other goodies that I have done while there. Smooches!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

You would think it is Winter here in this neck of the woods. Snow, and more snow. I guess the positive side to snow is more stamping that needs to be done. I had a giddy ole' time in my stamp room last night. In fact... I had stamped the night away and finally reached the point that I figured I should stop. I had turned all the lights out and headed up the stairs for bed when an idea hit me like a brick wall!!! The lights went back on and I had to make the card at that moment!!! It probably would of turned out better if I had been more awake, however it did turn out good. So, let me show you a few cards I made last night.

This first card I really wanted to use my big honkin' Primas. They have been sitting in their box just waiting for me to pull them out. I loved the color of this one since it was so close to Cool Caribbean. I folded it in half and then sponged the outside to give it the "roughed up", "Shabby Chic" or whatever you want to call it look. I placed a Choc Chip circle and stamped it with the dotted stamp from Petal Pushers. Inked the edges and placed it as a center. I used the Spring Mini Choc. Designer paper for under my clear button and adhered to my flower. Love those clear buttons. I used my Cuttlebug on this card. It has also been neglected a bit so off to the bug I went. I used the embossing folder that looks like french script and then I took a stipple brush and rubbed it over the cardstock with Choc. Chip. I added the ribbon and a tag stamped from Taggers Dozen. I love that stamp set. Lets hope we see it again really soon.

This next Card... well it was one of those late night ideas. I wanted to make these paisleys into a flower. I actually like how it turned out. Almost looks like a pinwheel. Kinda Cool. The center is from Polka Dots and Paisleys. The Real Red in the back of the paisleys is actually a circle cut from my coluzzle and then I used my slit punch around it to make a scalloped circle. Somewhere on someones blog I had seen this tutorial. What a Genius that girl is. Wonderful use of a slit punch. I love my coluzzle. I couldn't live without it. ***wink*** Denise!!!! The rest of the card is just embellishments. A few brads, a sentiment and some ribbon I can't live without. It makes me "happy"!

Lastly...

These two background stamps, Word Search and the Fonts one are so neglected. I really like these background stamps and they needed to see some ink. This was actually a pretty simple card and has lots of fun elements. I used my coluzzle again and used the word search background. Edged with Choc. Chip ink. The choc. Chip Cardstock was scalloped with my Corner rounder. I added a punch in the middle of each scallop to give it a little more texture. My favorite part on this card is the hardware at the top with ribbon on it. Simple but fun card.

There you have it! Kimberly has been stamping. So much more to do. I am afraid I haven't even started a swap for Regionals. Oh NO! I think I know what I will be doing tonight. :)

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Is that a word? Let me get to some business first and then on to my fantabulous news. I'm alive. yes, I survived the DENTIST. oh, how I hate the day at the dentist. That little happy pill they give you is just a wonder drug. Really, I don't remember the drive there except that I did see a deer. Russ tells me it was really there and I wasn't seeing things. Once there at the office, I was put to sleep and the job done. I've had a little discomfort and can't eat what I would really like, but overall... I did survive.

Now, let me tell you what ROCKS my world! Saturday, I am checking my emails and see that DONNA DOWNEY commented on my blog! If you go back a few days ago, you will see a layout I did completely inspired by her. Let me just tell you, I thought my happy pill carried over a day when I came across her name. :) I have been a huge fan of her for a long time. Just like her because she is so REAL and her layouts are so fun. WOW, how in the world did she find little ole ME??? Well, it made my day and Thanks Donna for checking out my layout.

Easter was GREAT here. Unfortunately, Brandon has Strep Throat. I am praying Alexis doesn't get it as well. Poor thing has had some difficulty getting those chocolate bunnies down without having discomfort. He is now on antibiotics and we should see an improvement tomorrow. This really did not cause a problem with hunting eggs. Ha... lets talk egg hunt. It was kept inside since it was FREEZING and snowing here today. Holy cow was it cold. Ice, snow and cold. Hello, is it APRIL???? This Florida girl is chilly!! I sat my rear next to the fireplace with my Yankee Candle Sun and Sand blowing beach smell my way. A girl can escape, right??

I am looking forward to the end of this new week already. I can't wait to meet up with one of my best girlfriends in Salt Lake City for Regionals. Honestly, I can learn nothing.... just seeing her will be a breath of fresh air. I am ready to giggle myself silly!!! Bring it on Sista!! Let the packing begin!!!Lastly, another of my best girlfriends is headed on the Stampin' Up! cruise the end of the week. I am so excited for her. Russ and I wish we could be there, but we know they will still have fun. ***wink***I have a few things up my sleeve to let her know we will be with her in spirit!! I can be a sneaky girl..... We did have WAY too much fun last year!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

I just love this bunny! I have had this idea floating around in my small little head for a few days. I haven't had time to put it to paper. :)

I took the OnBoard Alpha "E" and painted it white. Then took the eggs stamp from Bunny Hugs and stamped it all over the E in Stazon, Timber Brown. I colored the eggs with markers. I stamped Mr. Bunny and just gave it a few highligts with a blender pen in Pretty in Pink and had him poppin' out of the E. I used my corner rounder to scallop the edges of the Pretty in Pink cardstock and used the Dotted background to give it a little flair. I also used the textured stamp from You Make Me Happy on the top half of the card for a background. Lastly, I added pink wide Organdy ribbon and one of those cute clippie thing a ma bobs on the "E". I put a little ribbon on that too. Viola. My one and only Easter card. Yes my family... they will be LATE as usual. Please still love me. :)

Friday is my big day in the Dentist chair once again. If you don't know me very well.... I am a wuss. The biggest baby around when it comes to dentists. I have to have a tooth pulled and needless to say, they will be putting me out for that. Luckly my sweet husband took the day off to take me and take care of me. Since I will be taking a little "make me so happy" pill tomorrow, I will probably refrain from blogging tomorrow. Those that have been around me when I take these type of things know that good things may not come outta my mouth. Ha ha ha ha. Oh well. So, think of me as my bootie sits in that chair. To be quite FRANK... I am scared!!!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

I am often asked where I get my inspiration from. Besides many places on this internet, I find a lot of my inspiration from Magazines. Not just papercrafting magazines, but magazines in general. Pottery Barn, Oprah are a few that I like to browse. I love getting color ideas from magazines as well design ideas. Recently I was browsing the latest addition of Simple Scrapbooks and found a layout by Donna Downey that I really liked. The following layout was totally inspired by her creativity. I love how Donna always has a fresh look on her layouts and they are kept simple.

I've really been in a chalk mood lately and love using chalk with the Doodle This set. This set screams for my chalks!!!! Can you hear them??? There are quite a few little fun techniques I used on this layout. First, I cut up that beautiful designer paper into squares and then triangles to make a mosiac look going down the side of my layout. I love this Petals and Paisley Designer Paper. Are you hoarding or using it? Start cutting it up!!! It is begging to be used. Next, one of my new favorite embellishments to use are the clear buttons. I like these buttons because you can make any button you wish. You can stamp on these buttons using stazon on as well. Quite cute! I took the clear buttons and adhered with crystal effects and adhered a Fresh Favorites button with linen thread on top of the clear button. I gave the edges of my mosiac a little doodling by hand to make the squares pop a little more. The next fun technique I did was the good Ole' KISSING technique. Your stamps need love too. I took the Big Deal Alphabet and inked my Doodle This stamp in Black Craft ink. I placed the letter stamps on top of the Doodle stamp and then stamped my paper. To make the letters pop a little more I traced around them in black and tempting turquoise markers. I also stamped my twill in Black Craft ink using the doodle stamp. Oh what fun this added to a plain piece of twill. Lastly, I brought the screaming chalk out and used it softly around the doodles I stamped at the top and bottom of the layout. I truly love the softness it brings to this layout. Thanks to Donna Downey for the great inspiration she always brings and the simplicity she always brings to scrapbooking! How about trying some of these fun techniques on a card as well??

So once again, pull out all the fun tools you have and start playing. That is what playing with paper is all about. Having fun. We have all these great tools... we just need to use them. Do you have a neglected tool? I challenge you to pull it out, dust the cob webs off and play. I will challenge myself to pull out a stamp set that hasn't felt the love and a tool that needs a hug too. Look for something with the paper crimper soon!

Well, it is Tuesday. That means something else in my house has been neglected and it is time to clean. Where is the housekeeper when I need her????? Maybe, just maybe I will find inspiration from cleaning. Ha! Tootles!

Sunday, April 1, 2007

It is Party Time! Brandon had his first birthday party to attend yesterday and he could hardly sleep the night before due to all the excitement. His little friend had the party at Chucky Cheese and both kids were just giddy about it. I love how I turn into super GREAT mom when we are taking them to the greatest place on earth. :)

Anyways, I made this birthday card and gift bag for his little friend and I thought I would share. I love that Ahoy Matey stamp set. It has tons of great uses for it from scrapbook pages to birthday invites and gift ideas galore!!!

I used alot of chalk on the bag, card and tag. Whenever I am watercoloring, I always use Black or Timber Brown stazon. I used this on this particurlar project because I wanted to use my blender pens along with the chalk. Chalk can give a nice watercolor effect as well. I used the Matey's Map wheel and wheeled directly on the bag and used my chalk to highlight areas on it. I used my white gel pen (can't live without it) on the moutains in the wheel. My favorite part of this project is the tag. I stamped the ship and colored it in with chalk and then stamped it again on scratch paper, cutting out a piece of the sail. I then popped up the sail on dimensionals and it really made that ship FUN!